With a record of 9-3 after UFC 90, I am looking (as always) for a clean sweep here at UFC 91. I would be lying if I didn’t say that this may be one of my most anticipated cards in history as I believe that the main event is going to be a fight to remember. Anyways, instead of me wasting your time about what you already know, let’s get to work.

WELTERWEIGHT BOUT
Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory

Don’t really know too much about Tamdan McCroy, but I am a huge fan of “McLovin” Hazelett. With Dustin coming off of a big victory against Josh Burkman, Hazelett has a lot to look forward to in this fight. While he isn’t in the elite of the welterweight division, three of his four losses are to well known people (Josh Koscheck, Tony DeSouza, Junior Assuncao). I fully expect Hazelett to come out and push the action before taking down McCrory and finishing him off with a submission.

I am a huge fan of Nate Quarry and since coming back from his injury, he has gone 2-0, finishing off Pete Sell in a 3rd round KO, and beating Kalib Starnes by decision in the ‘Run fight’. However, it has been seven long months since Quarry has fought which could be against him. Demian Maia is no push over though, with a current record of 8-0, and coming off wins against Ryan Jensen, Ed Herman, and Jason MacDonald. While he has won submission of the night on all three of those occasions, I think that the experience of Nate Quarry could play a huge factor in this match.

Winner: Nate Quarry via. 2nd Round Submission

LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
Joe Stevenson vs. Kenny Florian

Here is the sleeper fight of the night. While Stevenson did have that brutal fight against BJ Penn back in January, he has one win since then against Gleison Tibau which he ended in the second round. For Florian, since losing to Sean Sherk back in 2006, he has racked up five straight wins, including wins over Joe Lauzon and Roger Huerta to give him his first loss. I can easily see this fight being a bloody war with neither man going down due to their determination to win, but in the end, I just believe that Florian is going to bee too much for the season two Ultimate Fighter alumnist.

Winner: Kenny Florian via. Unanimous Decision

HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks

In a bout that could be crucial to Gonzaga, he takes on Josh Hendricks. Being the number ten heavyweight fighter in the world according to mmaweekly. com, I really believe that it is a no brainer here anyways. Sure he has losses to Couture and Fabricio Werdum, but that doesn’t matter when he steps into the octagon with Josh Hendricks. I am feeling a Gabriel Gonzaga bandwagon starting, because I can see a big win here for the man they call “Napao”.

Winner: Gabriel Gonzaga via. 1st Round TKO

UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Randy Couture (c) vs. Brock Lesnar

It is quite possibly the biggest fight in UFC history and will go down as easily one of the most anticipated. Having looked over this fight time and time again, it is really hard for me to pick a winner. Lesnar has his speed, size, and wrestling background, but Couture has the wrestling as well along with being able to come up with great game plans. Sitting here at my computer, I am still trying to decide who will win this one. Both men I could easily see winning this one and facing either Mir or Big Nog after their fight, but this fight is so close to call and has such contrasting styles, it proves to be difficult to call. As much as like both men and want to see Lesnar succeed, I don’t think it will be here as Couture will pick apart Lesnar with his dirty boxing and show the world why you never pick against “The Natural”.

After taking a break from UFC 89, Krone Meltzer is back for his homeboys, Hellions Magazine to give my predictions for UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote. Going an even 2-2 after UFC 88 (with Matt Hamill and the left field KO of Chuck Liddell), my record now stands at 5-2.

This next card should be a good one and while many of people don’t see it as a phenomenal card (as it isn’t one), it still has five solid bouts and all of them should be great. Personally, I see all of these fights having a big effect on their weight division rankings and really push people higher or further down the list. With that being said, here is my rundown of the UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote card.

This is a hard fight for me to call here to start off. While Gray Maynard does own a recent win over Frankie “The Answer” Edgar, it was by a decision, albeit unanimous. As for Rich Clementi, his most recent win NOT by decision was against Melvin Guillard with a rear naked choke. Since then, he has defeated Sam Stout and Terry Etim by decision, nothing to shout about. I don’t see either of these men finishing off their opponent, but it’s going to be a battle. Personally, I see Gray Maynard winning this bout by a unanimous decision as Rich Clementi won’t be able to finish him off at all in this fight.

For those of you wondering, this will indeed by Sean Sherk’s first fight since his loss to BJ Penn back at UFC 84, and to be honest, I see this being a normal Sean Sherk fight. Despite the love I have for Tyson Griffin, I have learned my lesson with picking my favorites (thanks Matt Hamill) and clearly see Sherk laying out another victory here. When your record is 32-3 like Sean Sherk and your only losses are to Matt Hughes, BJ Penn, and GSP, that’s saying something. In the same respect, Tyson Griffin holds a powerful 12-1 record with his only loss coming to Frankie Edgar. Either way, I don’t see Griffin winning here as I think Sherk is too dead set on getting his title back and the journey starts at UFC 90.

Winner: Sean Sherk by Unanimous Decision

HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Fabricio Werdum vs. Junior dos Santos

This fight should be the second easiest fight of the night to call as Fabricio is coming off two huge wins against both Brandon Vera and Gabrielle Gonzaga. There is no question that he is going to head into UFC 90 with anything on his mind but stopping Junior in the first round. A win here would clearly put him in the running to face the winner of the small Lesnar/Couture/Mir/Nog tournament. I say Werdum punishes Junior dos Santos and gains a big victory that will go a long way here.

Stepping in for the injured Diego Sanchez is the wrestler himself Josh Koscheck and this right here is what I see as the real fight of the night. Both Koscheck and Alves are ranked in the top 5 at the welterweight division according to mmaweekly. com and are looking for a future title fight with either GSP, BJ Penn, or possibly Jake Shields who if he comes to the UFC would be first in line in my opinion. While Koscheck’s last loss came to GSP, and he has improved since then, the up and coming Thiago Alves is just to impressive in my mind to not give him the nod here. Holding three consecutive TKO victories against Chris Lytle, then Karo Parisyan, and then Matt Hughes, that is really impressive. I see the very same fate for Josh Koscheck, possibly eating another flying knee when going in for a takedown on Alves, giving him the victory here.

Winner: Thiago Alves via. 2nd Round TKO

UFC MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Anderson Silva (c) vs. Patrick Cote

The main event of the evening may be the most lop sided title fight in quite some time. Granted, anything can happen in MMA as proved by Seth Petruzelli knocking out MMA bad boy Kimbo Slice in :14 seconds, but Anderson Silva is FAR from being Kimbo Slice. “The Spider” is going to come out for this fight and continue to prove to the world that he is the best pound for pound fighter. Not taking anything away from Patrick Cote at all, but I don’t know if there is a middleweight walking this planet right now who can beat Anderson Silva. He is just too good right now and too far on top of his game to suffer a loss. With that said, I believe the less said about this fight, the better.

Winner: Anderson Silva via. 1st Round TKO

So that wraps things up for me here as I will surely be back here for UFC 91 when both Brock Lesnar and Randy “The Natural” Couture meet in what is sure to be the biggest fight in UFC history. Be sure to tune into UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote and listen to the Hellions Magazine podcast folks, but until next time, I am Krone Meltzer saying “Take your vitamins, say your prayers, drink your Moutain Dew, eat your chicken wings and one day, you too can be just like Krone Meltzer.” Thank you.

The UFC has officially three more fights to their first trek to Atlanta, GA. From UFC.com:

Three of mixed martial arts’ biggest stars” former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, former PRIDE two-division champ Dan Henderson, and longtime welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will be pushed to the limit in bouts just made official for September 6th’s UFC 88 card in Atlanta.

Franklin will return to the light heavyweight division for the first time in over three years when he takes on The Ultimate Fighter 3 standout Matt ‘The Hammer’ Hamill, who is coming off the biggest win of his career over Tim Boetsch in April.

Henderson looks to fight his way back into the 185-pound title mix when he battles once-beaten grappling wizard Rousimar Palhares, who made quite an impression on UFC fans in May when he submitted out veteran Ivan Salaverry in one round.

Parisyan will also be tested in his welterweight bout against Japan’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida in what may be the greatest clash of judo black belts ever seen in the Octagon.

Tickets are on sale now for UFC 88: Breakthrough, which will be held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. In the main event, Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell returns to take on unbeaten ‘Sugar’ Rashad Evans.

Keith Jardine (13-4-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will look to rebound from his recent loss to Wanderlei Silva when he meets Brandon Vera (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC 89, an event that takes place Oct. 18 at The NIA in Birmingham, England.

Jardine today announced the fight on an Albuquerque radio show.

The light heavyweight bout will likely end up on the night’s main card, which currently features a headline bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.